


Untitled 11.22 tag

by caranfindel



Series: Season 11 codas [10]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Episode Tag, Episode: s11e22 We Happy Few, Fix-It, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-24
Updated: 2016-05-24
Packaged: 2018-06-10 11:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6955294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caranfindel/pseuds/caranfindel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam's conversation with Chuck from 11.22.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled 11.22 tag

Sam taps lightly on the frame of the open guest room door. "Chuck? Can we talk?"

"Sure, Sam. What's up?"

He shuffles into the room, looking around, not necessarily avoiding Chuck's eyes but not really meeting them either. The guest room is sparsely furnished, with a bed, a desk, and a desk chair. Chuck's sitting on the bed, gently strumming the acoustic guitar he conjured up, so Sam pulls the chair out from the desk and straddles it. "Not really fit for a god, is it?" he says, as he looks around the room.

"It's fine," Chuck replies. "But you're not here to apologize for the accommodations."

Sam takes a deep breath. "I notice, in all of our planning, there's something you're not saying. The Mark of Cain was the key that kept the Darkness locked up. And to lock her up again, somebody's going to have to carry the Mark again, aren't they?"

"Yes, you're right," Chuck nods, still strumming the guitar. "Someone's going to have to accept the Mark."

"Dean will say it should be him, but he's wrong. I should do it."

Chuck raises an eyebrow. "And why do you say that?"

"It's obvious, isn't it? I'm the one who let her out. I should be the one to put her back."

"Yeah... well... it's really not that simple."

"Why not?"

Chuck sighs and puts the guitar down on the bed. "You know, Sam, the Mark is my sister's, not mine. I don't know everything about it. But I do know that some of her power is wrapped up in it."

"Wait," Sam laughs. "Like the One Ring?"

"Yes, very much like the One Ring," Chuck grins. "I gave Tolkien the idea, you know. Man, I miss that guy. He was a fun drunk. But yes, a lot like that. When she carries the Mark, she's almost unstoppable. But we can't toss it into Mount Doom. If she's destroyed, the power in the Mark will be unleashed, and it will bring down all of creation. We can only use it to hold her in check."

"And that's what Lucifer was doing..."

"Right. Lucifer, and then Cain. And now, someone else has to carry it."

Sam leans forward, his eyes pleading. "Please tell me you're not going to let Dean have it back." 

"No, I'm not going to let Dean have it. It's out of my hands anyway. Once you've been tainted by the Mark, it won't accept you again."

"What?" Sam's brow furrows in confusion. "So you're saying the Mark _itself_ makes you unworthy of the Mark?"

Chuck shrugs. "I know. It's kind of circular. But the Mark's power... well, it's like the One Ring again. The Mark seeks out who it wants; it pushes things in a particular direction. And once you've been changed by it, it rejects you."

"Does that mean... I mean, I knew the Mark changed Dean. Are you saying those changes are permanent? I thought he was okay now."

"Did you really?" 

"Well, sure, things have been weird. He's under a lot of stress. But I thought, once everything settled down..." Sam's voice fades.

"He's different, isn't he," Chuck says, and it's not a question. "Quicker to anger. Trying to keep a tighter trip on things. The thing is, the Mark doesn't just slap a coat of evil over you. It takes what you already are, fundamentally, and... amplifies it. Now, there are two things that are inherently Dean - protecting the people he loves, and killing the things that threaten them and everyone else. And to him, protecting means controlling."

Sam interjects. "He's not a bad person, Chuck. Dean is - "

Chuck holds up a hand. "No, let me finish. You don't have to convince me your brother's a hero. I've been watching you two for a long time. And I know he has the best of intentions, but you can't deny that he does try to control you in order to protect you. And that he wants to kill what he fears or doesn't understand. You saw him in there, when we were talking about the plan. He wants us to kill Amara even though he knows it will destroy the world. That's the Mark's effect on him. It's twisted those two basic instincts of his and made him more controlling and more eager to kill. Its power is nihilistic. It wants destruction and nothingness. It pushed him into isolation and mayhem, because that suited its purposes. Sam, he tried to kill you. Twice." He leans forward, as if searching Sam's face for a reaction. "Is that something he ever would have done before? The man who damned the world a couple of years ago just to save your life was ready to kill you. And I'm not saying that was bad. I mean, saving the world, and all. I'm just saying it was fundamentally... _not Dean,_ wasn't it? He's flawed, because he's human, and the Mark used those flaws to accomplish its own goals."

Sam's gripping the back of the chair so tightly, his knuckles are turning white. "But all humans are flawed. So how can _anyone_ can handle it?"

"Sam," Chuck sighs, "I need to... I owe you an apology. A big one. I told you when I met you that I was a cruel, capricious god, and it was true. I watched you, I watched my angels play with you, and I waited for you to fail. I never had faith in you, even though you had faith in me. I pulled you and Dean out of that convent mostly because I still love Lucifer, and I wanted to see what he would do next. I hoped there was a chance he and Michael would work it out. Which was stupid of me. But the really stupid thing is that it never, ever occurred to me that you would say _no._ That you would actually drag him back into the cage... man, I _still_ can't believe you were able to do that. And now I look at you and I see someone Azazel tried to take from me, and failed. And Lucifer tried, and failed. You're a good man, Sam Winchester."

Sam huffs a tiny, bitter laugh. "Yeah, right. Aren't you forgetting that I tried to destroy the world a couple of times?"

"No. You're flawed, and yes, you went through a little vengeance period, but mostly I see a man who has, more than once, offered himself as a sacrifice to save the world. Sam, the only thing you've really tried to destroy is yourself."

"So you think I could... "

"Yes, I think you can do this. If you're willing. And believe me, I know what I'm asking of you. I know you've sought rest, and an end to this life, and making you immortal by giving you the Mark is basically sentencing you to Hell again. And I'm sorry. But I don't ask this lightly."

Sam looks away. "Well, yeah, it makes sense. Like I said, I let the Darkness out. I need to be the one to lock it up again."

"No, you don't understand." Chuck stands up and puts his hands over Sam's. "I don't intend this as punishment for doing something you didn't realize you were doing. I'm not asking you to fix something you've broken. I'm asking you because I think you're the only one who can do it. Sam, I gave Lucifer the Mark because I loved him and trusted him the most, and that's why I'm asking you - because you're one of the most loved and trusted of my creation."

Sam looks down at Chuck's hands over his, then peers up at him. "Don't tell Dean, all right? He'll try to stop you."

"Oh, believe me, I know he will." Chuck squeezes Sam's hands, then steps back. Sam climbs off the chair, absent-mindedly rubbing his right forearm as if he were already wearing the Mark. "In fact, I might keep him around too, to keep an eye on you. You're smart enough that the Mark might push you into figuring out a way to get it off."

Sam's eyes go wide. "I won't, Chuck. I promise."

"I know you won't," Chuck smiles. "I'm counting on that."


End file.
